1 Samuel 1 – Historically, Israel was on the ropes. The Philistines were growing and becoming stronger because of their modern Greek military technology. They were the first in the region to discover and use iron, and …
1 Samuel
31 posts
1 Samuel 2 – The book of 1 Samuel is interesting because it transitions from a time of judges into a political and religious monarchy. We get a picture of the time period …
1 Samuel 3 – What I love about this chapter is that Samuel had not yet experienced the voice or guidance of the Lord. His mind had not yet been renewed to spiritual things. However, when the …
1 Samuel 4 – Israel goes to war with the Philistines. “Never did time seem more hopeless than when Samuel arose. The Philistines, strengthened not merely by a constant influx of immigrants, but by the importation of …
1 Samuel 5 – There are times when God uses circumstances to demolish the false gods that we all cling to. Initially, we tend to make excuses and stick with the status quo. This is especially true …
1 Samuel 6 – 7 months. 7 months of terror, suffering, and death. The Philistines experienced the white-hot flame of God’s fiery judgment. This was their encounter with the Living God because He will not share His …
1 Samuel 7 – Coming off the heels of their defeat to the Philistines, Samuel would bring forth a challenge. Often in our weakest moments is when God’s voice will speak the loudest. God had stirred their …
1 Samuel 8 – Samuel’s reputation as a judge was top-notch. He followed in a long line of judges who would call God’s people back to repentance, but only for a specific period of time. Because Samuel’s …
1 Samuel 9 – Saul had everything going for him. He came from a family of prominence and wealth. His father was most likely a feudal lord – a landowner and a leader in times of war. …
1 Samuel 10 – Once again, I want to point out the detail that many miss when Saul is anointed king. The terminology described a leader or commander and not a king. Verse 1 opens with this …
1 Samuel 11 – Nahash meant business. He threatened to humiliate and poke out the right eye of every man in Jabesh. The point of this strange act was intimidation, and eventually, to bring reproach to all …
1 Samuel 12 – When our vision is blinded to reality, sometimes the most effective reminder comes from God flexing His muscles. It would be the power found in a storm that would shake the people’s selfish …
1 Samuel 13 – Here in 1 Samuel 13, we see the battle between the Philistines and the Israelites begin when Jonathan decides to attack a Philistine garrison. Up until this point, the Israelites were at peace …
1 Samuel 14 – Those who are dialed into the Spirit are sensitive to the timing of the Lord. In 1 Samuel 14, Jonathan demonstrated that kind of dialed-in mindset. Unfortunately, Saul operated on his own timing. …
1 Samuel 15 – Do what you want, and ask for forgiveness later. If God is full of love, and He always forgives, then I can just follow my heart and apologize on the way. Do you …
1 Samuel 16 – Samuel loved Saul. He wanted so badly to see him live a fruitful life. But there are moments when God asks us to move on. The time for mourning is over. God had …
1 Samuel 17 – Malcolm Gladwell recently delivered a TED talk titled, “The Unheard Story of David and Goliath.” In this talk, Gladwell poses the idea that Goliath suffered from poor eyesight due to acromegaly, a disease …
1 Samuel 18 – “Saul has slain his thousands,And David his ten thousands.” The wording here says that “all cities in Israel” had women who danced and sang to this tune. It was literally a Billboard Top …
1 Samuel 19 – Saul has tried everything by this point. He will not be satisfied until David is dead. Saul plotted. God protected. David escaped. Through all of this, Saul never changed. He believed he was …
1 Samuel 20 – Saul has become a volcanic madman. David is struggling with trust and discernment. Jonathan is caught in the middle. The first day of the month was the New Moon festival which was celebrated …
1 Samuel 21 – David has lost so much. He has gone from the beloved and admired son-in-law of King Saul to the forsaken fugitive, alone and rejected. We don’t know exactly why he would choose to …
1 Samuel 22 – There’s no doubt that David felt completely isolated. Living in a cave, he was completely humiliated. It’s hard to imagine how he managed to get through this time. But God was at work. …
1 Samuel 23 – All Saul cares about is killing David. He doesn’t care about worshiping God. He doesn’t care about hearing from God. He doesn’t want to follow God. Yet, he justifies his actions by using …
1 Samuel 24 – David retreats with his men to the caves of the Wilderness of En Gedi. This was a strategic move and a very good one on David’s part. The canyon of En Gedi is …
1 Samuel 25 – As well as David reacted to having a moment with Saul to himself, he backtracks with his emotions when it comes to dealing with Nabal. Yes, it’s true, Nabal was an arrogant and …
1 Samuel 26 – If there was ever a justifiable moment for David to end Saul’s life, this was it. Saul had repented of his wrongdoing back when David had his first opportunity to kill Saul in …
1 Samuel 27 – The life of David is not all sunshine and rainbows. Though he was a man after God’s own heart, he was still human. Here in 1 Samuel 27, he makes a controversial decision. …
1 Samuel 28 – I’ve always had lots of questions about 1 Samuel 28. Was David actually going to fight with the Philistines? Why did Saul think that he could contact Samuel through a witch? Was it …
1 Samuel 29 – Can you imagine David fighting against his friends and family? Can you imagine him going to war with his best friend, Jonathan? Jesus speaks in Revelation to the church at Laodicea with strong, …
1 Samuel 30 – David returns to Zikleg, where he had fled from Saul only to find that while he and his men were gone, the Amalekites had come and raided their city. They burned the place …
1 Samuel 31 – Let’s do a quick recap. In desperation, Saul traveled to see a witch who brought back Samuel from the dead and predicted Saul’s death the next day. Today is the next day. Also …